ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s intelligence ministry announced on Saturday the arrest of 31 people in the southern province of Kerman for allegedly plotting to instigate nationwide unrest in response to calls from abroad.
The ministry said in a statement that those detained were members of four networks and “mercenaries of the US-Israeli enemy,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
“They had specific duties and plans for actively participating in nationwide calls for protests,” the ministry said without identifying those detained, adding that “the operatives had also carried out widespread violent and destructive acts during the January 2026 unrest.”
Iranians took to the streets in December 2025 to protest a severe economic crisis, with demonstrations later spreading across much of the country and demands expanding to include fundamental changes to the Islamic Republic’s political system.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency HRANA documented 7,007 confirmed deaths during the first 50 days of the unrest, including 6,488 protesters and 236 children, while another 11,744 cases remained under review.
Iran has tightened security across the country since the protests amid concerns over renewed unrest as the country faces deep economic strain, with the cost of living soaring and the national currency plunging amid government mismanagement, sanctions and war.
Authorities have detained and executed numerous people in connection with the January protests.
Iran’s police chief has warned on September 13 that security forces will show “no leniency” toward anyone who challenges the state in public spaces.
Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization reported in mid-September that at least 29 men arrested over the January protests had been executed since March 19 and at least 100 people arrested over the protests remain in risk of execution.
The crackdown has intensified since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, with security forces arresting thousands of people accused of espionage or collaborating with the two countries. The heightened security measures have come alongside continued fears among Iranian authorities of renewed domestic unrest as the country grapples with economic pressure from the war and sanctions.
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